Ellen Louks Fairclough (born 1905) was Canada's first female Cabinet minister. Preferring example to preaching in advancing women's rights, she was her country's outstanding example of a woman successful as wife, mother, businesswoman, and public servant.

Born in Hamilton, Ontario, on Jan. 28, 1905, Ellen Louks was the daughter of Norman Ellsworth Cook and Nellie Bell Louks. She was educated in Hamilton public and secondary schools, graduating at the age of 16. After a brief stint as a stenographer, she became an accountant. In 1931 she married D. H. Gordon Fairclough, owner and operator of a printing company.

Attracted by Politics

Fairclough's interest in politics dated from the time she and her husband helped organize the Young Conservative Association of Hamilton. In 1935 she started her own accounting firm and continued to operate it until becoming a member of the government in 1957. After World War II she decided to seek municipal office. She was...